Curious what the scene is like there, I rarely hear anything or see videos about it. I have ridden a lot in Peru, curious what Argentina has to offer for a good two week vacation. Is there one location that is the 'best', or is it a moveable feast?
I am interested as well, I am pretty sure I am headed down there in a couple months...
Hi, sorry, I meant to answer sooner but the world went bananas since those CPU vulnerabilities were disclosed.
- Let's start by the Pampas, where I live. The scene down here is pretty much flat singletrack, with the small exceptions of Tandil and Sierra de la Ventana. Both qualify only as rocky hills, with 2-4 minute DH tracks, and with medium to low difficulty.
- Then we have Cordoba at the center region of the country, where we usually do an alpine crossing from La Cumbrecita to Yacanto de Calamuchita. It's a 3-4 day trip, with good DH stages and a few lung-busting uphills. There are also a few DH worthy tracks in Cordoba, but I haven't been to them. I have a couple of friends over there who might put a trip up for you.
- In the Salta Province at North, I have a close friend who is also used to take foreigners up for a spin. He was the one who hooked up the crew from Where the Trail Ends with the local governor and got them their film permits (the filming crew seemed to think since they were coming down to a semi-savage country, they could just cross a couple of barb-wire fences and do their stuff, while the local forest service agents begged to disagree). At Salta City you have the Cerro negro downhill, a magic 45-minute DH, considered by many the best in South America. Then, there's Cafayate, where Andreu, Darren and the rest of WTTE crew filmed. Pure and almost untouched big mountain stuff. Gnarly, but you better go there with somebody who knows the area, or you'll end up dehydrated. The best time to go to Salta is from late September till mid-November. The heat is unbearable after that.
- In the Central Andes (Mendoza, San Luis, San Juan) you could go to Chacras de Coria, or Potrero de los Funes in San Luis. There are tons of undocumented trails, from mild to very rough. Again, you'll need to have someone to show you around.
- In the south portion of the Andes you could start in Chapelco, owner of one of the few proper Argentinian bike parks. The weather and landscape is pretty akin to that of the PNW in North America. Then you have San Martín de los Andes in Neuquén too. I have a friend there, with a hostel and a ton of hand-built trails to show around.
- Going further south, you'll find Bariloche. Martín "Cepi" Raffo guided the Rocky Mountain team there a few years ago. There is another bike park at Cerro Catedral, where one EWS stop was held last year. It's open from December to late February. You can rent a bike or a guided tour there.
Those are the places I can think of right now. I can grab more info if anyone is interested, and I can get the ball rolling with the many excellent friends I have in those places if anyone fancies coming down this far.
EDIT: If it was me planning a two-week trip down here (and before our summer season ends at late February), I'd surely opt for the Bariloche/San Martin de los Andes/Chapelco combo. Best trails, excellent beer, excellent meat, and good people. The transport to/from Buenos Aires -where most international flights arrive- is also simplified if you take Bariloche or Chapelco as start/end points.
- Let's start by the Pampas, where I live. The scene down here is pretty much flat singletrack, with the small exceptions of Tandil and Sierra de la Ventana. Both qualify only as rocky hills, with 2-4 minute DH tracks, and with medium to low difficulty.
- Then we have Cordoba at the center region of the country, where we usually do an alpine crossing from La Cumbrecita to Yacanto de Calamuchita. It's a 3-4 day trip, with good DH stages and a few lung-busting uphills. There are also a few DH worthy tracks in Cordoba, but I haven't been to them. I have a couple of friends over there who might put a trip up for you.
- In the Salta Province at North, I have a close friend who is also used to take foreigners up for a spin. He was the one who hooked up the crew from Where the Trail Ends with the local governor and got them their film permits (the filming crew seemed to think since they were coming down to a semi-savage country, they could just cross a couple of barb-wire fences and do their stuff, while the local forest service agents begged to disagree). At Salta City you have the Cerro negro downhill, a magic 45-minute DH, considered by many the best in South America. Then, there's Cafayate, where Andreu, Darren and the rest of WTTE crew filmed. Pure and almost untouched big mountain stuff. Gnarly, but you better go there with somebody who knows the area, or you'll end up dehydrated. The best time to go to Salta is from late September till mid-November. The heat is unbearable after that.
- In the Central Andes (Mendoza, San Luis, San Juan) you could go to Chacras de Coria, or Potrero de los Funes in San Luis. There are tons of undocumented trails, from mild to very rough. Again, you'll need to have someone to show you around.
- In the south portion of the Andes you could start in Chapelco, owner of one of the few proper Argentinian bike parks. The weather and landscape is pretty akin to that of the PNW in North America. Then you have San Martín de los Andes in Neuquén too. I have a friend there, with a hostel and a ton of hand-built trails to show around.
- Going further south, you'll find Bariloche. Martín "Cepi" Raffo guided the Rocky Mountain team there a few years ago. There is another bike park at Cerro Catedral, where one EWS stop was held last year. It's open from December to late February. You can rent a bike or a guided tour there.
Those are the places I can think of right now. I can grab more info if anyone is interested, and I can get the ball rolling with the many excellent friends I have in those places if anyone fancies coming down this far.
EDIT: If it was me planning a two-week trip down here (and before our summer season ends at late February), I'd surely opt for the Bariloche/San Martin de los Andes/Chapelco combo. Best trails, excellent beer, excellent meat, and good people. The transport to/from Buenos Aires -where most international flights arrive- is also simplified if you take Bariloche or Chapelco as start/end points.
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Go to Bariloche and eat at “El boliche de Alberto”.
Order the Bife de Chorizo (Vuelta Vuelta) and a bottle of Malbec.
Thank me later.
Order the Bife de Chorizo (Vuelta Vuelta) and a bottle of Malbec.
Thank me later.
Pro tip: Bariloche is where most high school students choose to take their prom trip.
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OK, I promised some neat pictures from the DH scene here in Argentina, and I'm determined to deliver. Let's start from south to north:
(That's Cedric Gracia right there)
And here are a couple of promo videos from previous seasons and races:
- Bariloche, Cerro Catedral bike park:
(That's Cedric Gracia right there)
And here are a couple of promo videos from previous seasons and races:
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San Martín de los Andes/Cerro Chapelco bike park:
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- Potrerillos, Mendoza:
- Vallecitos, Mendoza:
- Salta, Salta:
These were taken by a good friend, who will gladly show you around. He loves both MTB and his landscape, and is used to guiding foreigners up there. I'm bound to visit him on October with the rest of my riding buddies. Consider yourselves invited to follow him in Instagram, @cebollasalta:
These next two videos are from the Cerro negro downhill, which as I said before is one of the best of Latin America:
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That is the most motocross pic I've seen here. That looks awesome
The Jumping Onion?
That's the Cerro Catedral version of the regular "grass pedally track end" we are used to see in many WC venues
.
Whoohoo!
You're in the middle of summer down there while most of us are dealing with short days and shit weather.
So you have to keep posting ride pics. It's the law.
You're in the middle of summer down there while most of us are dealing with short days and shit weather.
So you have to keep posting ride pics. It's the law.
I'm not the most photogenic guy around, and I'm not used to stop the fun for taking pictures. I'll see what I can find in my archives.
Booked tickets to Buenos Aires last night, plan is to head from there almost immediately to El Calafate in the south. Anything to speak of that far down?
You'll get to see the Perito Moreno glacier, which is simple astonishing!!! Took my breath away the first time I saw it.
The MTB scene is pretty much nonexistent AFAIK, but I'll ask around. I think you'll have better luck on the Chilean side of the Andes for that matter.
The only reference I could find via Google was this:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/argentina/el-calafate/activities/el-calafate-downhill-mountain-biking-adventure/a/pa-act/v-5674FTEBIKE/363081
and it's pretty much an XC/Rally trip.
Anyway, I'll ask some friends about the MTB scene and if I find something I'll post it here.
Thanks for the input man! This is a trip with a few folks, half ride. We have all been wanting to get to that region for a long time...It's not super important I ride, if there was somewhere I could pick up a quality rental and do a quick ride I'd love to though. Just happy to be down there, I'll be cool with being on feet/crampons for 9 days...
I'm afraid you won't find any decent bike rentals down there. Just some basic level hardtails. The bike trip I linked above is done on Alivio-level dual suspension XC bikes, but in all honesty I wouldn't expect to find anything close to your Pole or your Chromag.
EDIT: A friend tipped me of Patagonia Shop. Drop 'em a line on FB, they might be able to fix you a decent ride.
Now for the crampon trip, I assume you'll be walking -at least partly- on top of the glacier. I have just one thing to tell you about it: IT'S FUCKING AMAZING!!! I did it 8 years ago, and I can still hear the ice crumbling down in the heart of the glacier. An amazing experience!!!
Your ears must be pretty good if u can hear that all the way up in la Plata
Good memories beat acute senses. Always.Your ears must be pretty good if u can hear that all the way up in la Plata
I'm getting ready to do this trip once again with my riding buddies in about a month:
It's a 4-day alpine crossing trip from Yacanto de Calamuchita to La Cumbrecita, in the Cordoba province.
Here is the Wikiloc track: https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/travesia-sierras-grandes-cordoba-7829388
It's a 4-day alpine crossing trip from Yacanto de Calamuchita to La Cumbrecita, in the Cordoba province.
Here is the Wikiloc track: https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/travesia-sierras-grandes-cordoba-7829388
Just came back from the alpine traverse. One of my younger trip buddies lives in Brazil and trains with Thiago Boaretto, the Brazilian national enduro champion. Boy that kid surely lets go off the brakes. He took us bombing down the rock toboggans to La Cumbrecita like nobody's business.
Just a quick selection from the pics I already have downloaded to my PC:
Yours truly here on the first day, a bit dizzy after climbing ~6500ft and traversing at ~8000ft to the Dominguez mountain refuge:
... and bombing down the rock toboggans on the way to La Cumbrecita:
And the final goodbye to the mountains, with my current steed on the foreground and my old one right behind it, now in the hands of a good friend:
I'll add more pics as the rest of my riding buddies upload theirs to our Google Photos repo.
Just a quick selection from the pics I already have downloaded to my PC:
Yours truly here on the first day, a bit dizzy after climbing ~6500ft and traversing at ~8000ft to the Dominguez mountain refuge:
... and bombing down the rock toboggans on the way to La Cumbrecita:
And the final goodbye to the mountains, with my current steed on the foreground and my old one right behind it, now in the hands of a good friend:
I'll add more pics as the rest of my riding buddies upload theirs to our Google Photos repo.
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As promised, we are heading to Salta tomorrow. A 1000 miles trip in a van with 5 friends and our bikes. Cebolla, our local guy there* has put together a pretty demanding schedule:
Monday: The famous Cerro Negro descent. We will be shuttled to 2400 meters and then start climbing on our own, to reach the summit at 4088 meters. Then, two and a half hours of downhill, mostly through cliff paths until we reach the skirts of Salta city.
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/cerro-malcante-8011263
Tuesday: Recovering from the Monday epic, by throwing some laps at the local downhill track and putting together a helluva BBQ.
Wednesday: Shuttle to Pascha at 4150m above sea level, then ride down the mountains to San Lorenzo, 1164 ASL:
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/mtb-pascha-incahuasi-abra-astilleros-san-lorenzo-472355
Thursday: a short XC loop (20 miles) to relax our legs.
Friday: Climb on our own for 3 and a half hours to ride downhill from the Quebrada de San Lorenzo to Salta city:
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/cerro-san-lorenzo-11051867
I'll do my best to post pics, but I'd rather keep my phone on my pocket and grab the handlebars (or a beer for that matter).
* He was the one who got the crew from Where The Trail Ends their filming permits. Seems like those guys thought they could just jump some barbwire fences and do what they pleased since they were in a developing country, and got pretty pissed off when the forest patrol threw them out the Cafayate National Park. Cebolla eased them out and got them in touch with the governor, who granted their filming permit in no time.
Monday: The famous Cerro Negro descent. We will be shuttled to 2400 meters and then start climbing on our own, to reach the summit at 4088 meters. Then, two and a half hours of downhill, mostly through cliff paths until we reach the skirts of Salta city.
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/cerro-malcante-8011263
Tuesday: Recovering from the Monday epic, by throwing some laps at the local downhill track and putting together a helluva BBQ.
Wednesday: Shuttle to Pascha at 4150m above sea level, then ride down the mountains to San Lorenzo, 1164 ASL:
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/mtb-pascha-incahuasi-abra-astilleros-san-lorenzo-472355
Thursday: a short XC loop (20 miles) to relax our legs.
Friday: Climb on our own for 3 and a half hours to ride downhill from the Quebrada de San Lorenzo to Salta city:
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-mountain-bike/cerro-san-lorenzo-11051867
I'll do my best to post pics, but I'd rather keep my phone on my pocket and grab the handlebars (or a beer for that matter).
* He was the one who got the crew from Where The Trail Ends their filming permits. Seems like those guys thought they could just jump some barbwire fences and do what they pleased since they were in a developing country, and got pretty pissed off when the forest patrol threw them out the Cafayate National Park
. Cebolla eased them out and got them in touch with the governor, who granted their filming permit in no time.
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OK, so after jumping almost straight from the 18-hour return trip into a helluva server migration nightmare, I'm almost off the hook and able to devote some time to update you guys on my trip to Salta.
The TL/DR caption would be IF YOU EVER COME DOWN HERE, DO THE CERRO NEGRO TRAIL!!! Seriously guys, it's awesome. You'll find yourselves riding on pre-inca trails, hanging from the mountains over 700 meters above the river below. It's awesome.
Now for the long part, our trip was riddled with issues. To start, one of the guys cancelled at the last minute because the economic situation here in Argentina has been quickly deteriorating. The USD/ARS rate went from 1:23 to 1:40 in less than 15 days, causing all the prices to hike, and starting a wave of massive layoffs, one of which took our riding buddy. The fuel budget we had went almost 40% up, so we had to make some cuts here and there to still be able to make it North to Salta.
On Sunday, upon arriving, my friend Cebolla got us hooked with one of his friends, who rented us a great house in a closed development just 5 minutes away from the start of several trails. We had been driving 18 hours straight, but after a couple of hours' nap, the excitement got the best of us and we picked up the GPS and headed to the Quebrada de San Lorenzo, a private natural reserve. Since it was a particularly hot day (34 Celsius) we didn't make it to the top.
On Monday we made the arrangements to be shuttled to the start of the Cerro Negro trail, almost 160km away from Salta city, where we were staying. Made sure all the bikes were ready for the trip, and got a taste of local color.
On Tuesday we started at 5AM, picked up our guide/shuttle man, "El Larva" and he guided us through La Cuesta del Obispo, an amazing mountain road climbing the skirts of the Cerro Malcante (AKA Cerro Negro), into the Los Cardones National Park. After traversing the Tin Tin Straight (a straight road going through the high plains, full of Cardones, a giant cactus species), we headed north on a country road into the Cerro Negro. There, at 3600 meters above sea level, we unloaded the bikes from our van and waved Larva goodbye.
We started pedaling our way up to 4200m, reached the apex, and dove down into the valley.
We passed by ancient shepherds refugees (used after the rainy seasons to bring sheep and goats up there, to the fertile fields) and then tackled the steepest slopes of this first part of the trail, leaving the country roads behind:
Then we entered a narrow path which was built by natives well before the Inca empire conquered this part of the country, about 800 years ago.
After 10 kilometers of mostly downwards trail, we reached El Sillón, the place were the path exits the valley and dives down the Rio Manzano valley, our way out of the Cerro Negro and back to Salta City.
From there we faced another 10km of technical downhill trail, with rain-made ruts almost two feet deep, and some demanding sections with the same kind of dirt the crew from Where The Trail Ends faced on Cafayate. Small plate-like pieces of rock, which upon a tire's brake lock would slide down the mountain with you. We rode down to the Manzano Mountain Graveyard, and then entered a narrow path hanging over the Manzano river.
From there on, the path dives down into the yungas, a humid forest formation growing below 2500m above sea level:
Now the rainy season comes in late November, so the river itself was almost dry. We pedaled up and down its margins for over 5 kilometers, until we found Larva waiting for us at the beginning of a country road, ready to take us back to Salta.
One of the wonderful things of the Cerro Negro trail is how far from Salta it starts, almost 160km. Then, by crossing through the mountains you end up less than 40km away from Salta City. Almost 95% of the trail points down, and I'd say 99% of it is rideable. Techinical ascents, long downhills, you name it. Some breath taking views are the cherry on top. Oh, and if it wasn't for a couple of mechanicals we could have completed it in less than 5 hours.
We had to leave the Pascha trail out of this trip, since the shuttling to its start point was only reachable on 4x4 trucks and the guys we were talking to decided to double the price to take us up there. So instead of taking that trail, we opted to make the best of the over 100 kilometers of trails we had just 5 minutes away from our doorstep, and take a couple of trips to the local downhill track. It has three different tracks, ranging from flowy to "oh shit" technincal, and made our afternoons for a couple of days.
If my riding buddies upload their GoPro footage to Youtube I'll be adding it up to this post. But for the most part, I can only encourage you to come visit Salta. The food is great, the people are open and friendly, and just the Cerro Negro trail alone justifies a trip.
The TL/DR caption would be IF YOU EVER COME DOWN HERE, DO THE CERRO NEGRO TRAIL!!! Seriously guys, it's awesome. You'll find yourselves riding on pre-inca trails, hanging from the mountains over 700 meters above the river below. It's awesome.
Now for the long part, our trip was riddled with issues. To start, one of the guys cancelled at the last minute because the economic situation here in Argentina has been quickly deteriorating. The USD/ARS rate went from 1:23 to 1:40 in less than 15 days, causing all the prices to hike, and starting a wave of massive layoffs, one of which took our riding buddy. The fuel budget we had went almost 40% up, so we had to make some cuts here and there to still be able to make it North to Salta.
On Sunday, upon arriving, my friend Cebolla got us hooked with one of his friends, who rented us a great house in a closed development just 5 minutes away from the start of several trails. We had been driving 18 hours straight, but after a couple of hours' nap, the excitement got the best of us and we picked up the GPS and headed to the Quebrada de San Lorenzo, a private natural reserve. Since it was a particularly hot day (34 Celsius) we didn't make it to the top.
On Monday we made the arrangements to be shuttled to the start of the Cerro Negro trail, almost 160km away from Salta city, where we were staying. Made sure all the bikes were ready for the trip, and got a taste of local color.
On Tuesday we started at 5AM, picked up our guide/shuttle man, "El Larva" and he guided us through La Cuesta del Obispo, an amazing mountain road climbing the skirts of the Cerro Malcante (AKA Cerro Negro), into the Los Cardones National Park. After traversing the Tin Tin Straight (a straight road going through the high plains, full of Cardones, a giant cactus species), we headed north on a country road into the Cerro Negro. There, at 3600 meters above sea level, we unloaded the bikes from our van and waved Larva goodbye.
We started pedaling our way up to 4200m, reached the apex, and dove down into the valley.
We passed by ancient shepherds refugees (used after the rainy seasons to bring sheep and goats up there, to the fertile fields) and then tackled the steepest slopes of this first part of the trail, leaving the country roads behind:
Then we entered a narrow path which was built by natives well before the Inca empire conquered this part of the country, about 800 years ago.
After 10 kilometers of mostly downwards trail, we reached El Sillón, the place were the path exits the valley and dives down the Rio Manzano valley, our way out of the Cerro Negro and back to Salta City.
From there we faced another 10km of technical downhill trail, with rain-made ruts almost two feet deep, and some demanding sections with the same kind of dirt the crew from Where The Trail Ends faced on Cafayate. Small plate-like pieces of rock, which upon a tire's brake lock would slide down the mountain with you. We rode down to the Manzano Mountain Graveyard, and then entered a narrow path hanging over the Manzano river.
From there on, the path dives down into the yungas, a humid forest formation growing below 2500m above sea level:
Now the rainy season comes in late November, so the river itself was almost dry. We pedaled up and down its margins for over 5 kilometers, until we found Larva waiting for us at the beginning of a country road, ready to take us back to Salta.
One of the wonderful things of the Cerro Negro trail is how far from Salta it starts, almost 160km. Then, by crossing through the mountains you end up less than 40km away from Salta City. Almost 95% of the trail points down, and I'd say 99% of it is rideable. Techinical ascents, long downhills, you name it. Some breath taking views are the cherry on top. Oh, and if it wasn't for a couple of mechanicals we could have completed it in less than 5 hours.
We had to leave the Pascha trail out of this trip, since the shuttling to its start point was only reachable on 4x4 trucks and the guys we were talking to decided to double the price to take us up there. So instead of taking that trail, we opted to make the best of the over 100 kilometers of trails we had just 5 minutes away from our doorstep, and take a couple of trips to the local downhill track. It has three different tracks, ranging from flowy to "oh shit" technincal, and made our afternoons for a couple of days.
If my riding buddies upload their GoPro footage to Youtube I'll be adding it up to this post. But for the most part, I can only encourage you to come visit Salta. The food is great, the people are open and friendly, and just the Cerro Negro trail alone justifies a trip.
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So, given the economic situation, a Gringo trip would be a bargain right now?
Yup, pretty much.